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Three children die in Russia summer camp fire
MOSCOW, July 23, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Three children died and another was
fighting for his life after a fire ripped through a summer camp in the
Russian far east in the early hours of Tuesday, the regional authorities
said.
The blaze tore through a private children’s tent camp in the Khabarovsk
region, destroying 20 tents and killing a girl on her 11th birthday.
Two other girls suffered extensive burns and later died in hospital,
according to a spokeswoman for the regional authorities, Nadezhda Tomchenko.
“Their injuries were incompatible with life,” Tomchenko told AFP.
A boy was also in “a very bad condition and fighting for his life,” she
added. “The situation does not look good.”
The camp was being attended by 189 children and teenagers aged between
seven and 15.
Investigators launched a manslaughter investigation, and the director of
the tent camp was detained.
Fires are common in Russia and often kill the most vulnerable due to
negligence and disregard for safety rules.
BSS/AFP/ARS/1747 hrs